Should students be allowed to use cellphones in school?

[New haven america]

I also recently found out that in New York state, during standardized exams, students are now given a standardized cheat sheet from the state, instead of having to prepare one on an index card from home like they used to... This is exactly the kind of cultural decline that is ruining America.

Good for them, standardized tests are a bitch.

[The Two Jerseys]

I also recently found out that in New York state, during standardized exams, students are now given a standardized cheat sheet from the state, instead of having to prepare one on an index card from home like they used to... This is exactly the kind of cultural decline that is ruining America.

The simple fact is, information is becoming easier and easier to quickly access.

Assuming this trend continues, schools may shift towards wholly teaching students how to responsibly find accurate information instead of trying to get them to rely on memorization.

Ever take an engineering license exam?

It's literally a test of how good you are at looking up the relevant information.

[New haven america]

Exactly.

You can't ban them entirely, so you might as well incorporate the pocket supercomputer into a lesson and potentially benefit.

SMH, this is decadence, sine qua non. "Take the shortcut because it is easy" -- that is how men and civilizations fall.

Generally the shortcut is usually better in the grand scheme of things.

Or do you think we should get rid of the internet and start using carrier pigeons again?

[Katganistan]

I also recently found out that in New York state, during standardized exams, students are now given a standardized cheat sheet from the state, instead of having to prepare one on an index card from home like they used to... This is exactly the kind of cultural decline that is ruining America.

That's news to me. Source?

[Galloism]

SMH, this is decadence, sine qua non. "Take the shortcut because it is easy" -- that is how men and civilizations fall.

I suppose NASA should do all calculations by hand because computers are decadence and will cause the fall of civilization?

And we should make them do it in pen. And televise it.

[Neutraligon]

There's definitely a point to people having better memories if they don't have a phone to just look information up as needed and having to intentionally retain said information. Also being able to do maths quickly in your head without a calculator or spellcheck your own work without an app are good skills.

Not the sort of thing I'd say warrant a total ban on phones though.

Thing is, I find learning how to apply information you find (in addition to how to find said information and determine its reliability) is more important then memorizing. Certain basic things will be memorized simply because of how often they are used, but beyond that, why is it needed?

[New haven america]

I suppose NASA should do all calculations by hand because computers are decadence and will cause the fall of civilization?

And we should make them do it in pen. And televise it.

No, no television, that's too easy.

Radio or newspaper only, and no pictures! You have to use your thinky box.

[A m e n r i a]

How else are they supposed to pay for their snacks? With cash money? *Gasps*

I jest, I'm fine with my future daughter using her phone at school, as long as she does well in class. China is known for its technology, so why not use it? Support local tech industries, use Chinese phones.

This message was written on a Vivo.

[The Two Jerseys]

You want to ban them from using a periodic table during chemistry exams as well?

My school wouldn't let us use the periodic table for tests.

No, it wasn't fun.

You decadent SOB, gotta look it up on the periodic table because you can't be bothered to remember the atomic mass of promethium...

[Oceanor]

SMH, this is decadence, sine qua non. "Take the shortcut because it is easy" -- that is how men and civilizations fall.

I suppose NASA should do all calculations by hand because computers are decadence and will cause the fall of civilization?

This has got to be the best response I've seen all day.

[New haven america]

My school wouldn't let us use the periodic table for tests.

No, it wasn't fun.

You decadent SOB, gotta look it up on the periodic table because you can't be bothered to remember the atomic mass of promethium...

145 u, 61 protons, 84 neutrons.

[Stellar Colonies]

SMH, this is decadence, sine qua non. "Take the shortcut because it is easy" -- that is how men and civilizations fall.

I suppose NASA should do all calculations by hand because computers are decadence and will cause the fall of civilization?

"Real men use slide rules."

[Neutraligon]

I suppose NASA should do all calculations by hand because computers are decadence and will cause the fall of civilization?

"Real men use slide rules."

No room for the Abacus?

[The Two Jerseys]

I suppose NASA should do all calculations by hand because computers are decadence and will cause the fall of civilization?

"Real men use slide rules."

No, real men use an abacus.

In Latin.

[New haven america]

"Real men use slide rules."

No room for the Abacus?

Sorry, that wasn't invented in America, we can't have that cause trans-Pacific trade takes too long.

[Stellar Colonies]

"Real men use slide rules."

No room for the Abacus?

The slide rule was invented in the West, that wasn't.

[Katganistan]

"Real men use slide rules."

No room for the Abacus?

Paper and pencil is good enough!

[The Two Jerseys]

No room for the Abacus?

Paper and pencil is good enough!

Bah, real men use clay tablets.

[Geneviev]

They are used as part of class sometimes to look things up. I don't see any problem with using the almost infinite information we now have access to.

If they are used for Snapchat during a lesson, that is ridiculous and shouldn't be allowed. But it is not allowed, so it's not a problem.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Depends on how they’re to be used. If it’s in class and to look up info? Sure. But other than that, unless there’s an emergency, they should remain in their bags.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

A lot of good teaching resources are available which require a touchscreen and/or screen and keyboard.
Not all schools can afford a laptop or even a tablet for every student in every class.
Just about any school however can afford wireless and an internet server (seriously: for a few hundred students, an internet server is just a computer running Apache)
So yeah, for use as web browsers to interact with content chosen by the teacher, cellphones in school.

Should the cellphones be able to send messages, use messaging services, or freely browse the internet? During class time, not always. Though finding and appraising content from the internet is obviously pretty important, it would have to be limited since the teacher doesn't have enough eyeballs to check what every student is doing on the internet all the time. It might be a taking turns thing.

The main problem I see is one of equal access. Either every kid has a phone, or all the phones have to stay in a locker 'til school lets out.
Phones are so empowering that it's just not acceptable that only those kids whose parents can afford a phone, would have one.

[Ashaie]

There are lots of good teaching resources online, that students can access on phones. Banning them completely in class is ridiculous, just let the teacher say if students can have their phones out (to look at an article or website, do research without having to be at a laptop, interactive quizzes etc.)

[Thepeopl]

My 4 children all attend schools where use of technology is mandatory, if you don't have a phone, you'll receive a tablet or chromebook to learn how to navigate the internet. How to cope with the massive information overload.
As soon as highschool starts, the schedule will be published in "Magister", same with grades and homework
(Parents get access via parent accounts, absences are also published in Magister) it's an app for the phone.
In primary school, even 4 yo work in dlo (digital learning environment, but dutch "omgeving")
They play games on squla which enhances their calculus capabilities, their reading capabilities and even learn English.
They learn traffic rules and about wildlife. Yes all by "just playing on squla" which is playable on any platform.

[Alorgaze]

School is for school, not Snapchat.

I love how you narrowed your view down only to "Snapchat", how did you even get there? How did you come up with the assumption that most teenagers use Snapchat , and only Snapchat?

[Ghost Land]

When I was in middle school, the rule was that you could bring your own device, but you could use it only at lunch, outside of school hours, or when directed to use it in class. That always seemed like a fair rule to me.

In high school, people basically let the inmates run the asylum in terms of certain things, phones included, and kids would whip out their phones and start messaging furiously at any chance they got. There would be times, like when everyone had finished with a test, that I was the only student in the classroom who wasn't on his or her phone.

Incidentally, the calculator I used in high school was the same size and shape as a lot of students' phones, and I would sometimes keep it in my pocket in a similar way to fool people. Other kids would think I'm pulling out my phone (and one time I had left it in the hallway by accident, and the teacher actually asked whose phone it was), when really, it was just a Texas Instruments calculator. I know I always found that funny.

My 4 children all attend schools where use of technology is mandatory, if you don't have a phone, you'll receive a tablet or chromebook to learn how to navigate the internet. How to cope with the massive information overload.
As soon as highschool starts, the schedule will be published in "Magister", same with grades and homework
(Parents get access via parent accounts, absences are also published in Magister) it's an app for the phone.
In primary school, even 4 yo work in dlo (digital learning environment, but dutch "omgeving")
They play games on squla which enhances their calculus capabilities, their reading capabilities and even learn English.
They learn traffic rules and about wildlife. Yes all by "just playing on squla" which is playable on any platform.

Even when they're only like 6 years old?

Maybe I'm a 20th-century relic, but this just seems lazy to me: teachers letting technology do all the work instead of actually teaching. I guess all I can say is that I'm glad I'm not in grade school in the present day and age.